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"The first day of rehearsal with all the survivors I could barely get myself together. My body was wrecked with inflammation and pain, crying and shaking the whole walk to the stage. The whole night before I did not sleep. The fear of knowing I would finally face that I belonged in that group. I told them I was so sorry I couldn't be Lady Gaga for them, that I couldn't even get dressed. I could barely get through the song, couldn't hit any of the high notes. Hair wet, sloppy tee shirt jeans uggs, tissues. They all hugged me and told me that it was okay because it was more real this way, that they understood that they were in pain too. They told me they were there for me to support me because they believed this message needed to be heard. Without them I never could have felt strong. They accepted me for me, at my lowest and that was good enough for them, so somehow through the magic of their courage they made it good enough for me too."

"My grandmother (in the middle) and my Aunt Sheri (on the right) both called me the day after the Oscars because I never told them I was a survivor. I was too ashamed. Too afraid. And it took me a long time to even admit it to myself because I'm Catholic and I knew it was evil but I thought it was my fault. I thought it was my fault for ten years. The morning after the Oscars when I talked to my grandmother Ronnie, with tears in her eyes I could hear them welling through the phone she said to me "My darling granddaughter, I've never been more proud of you than I am today." Something I have kept a secret for so long that I was more ashamed of than anything-- became the thing the women in my life were the most proud of. And not just any women, the ones I look up to the most. #BeBrave #speakup #tilithappenstoyou"

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Z100 Interview

Gaga did a telephone interview with Z100/Elvis Duran Radio station in the morning at 9am.

Speaking with "Elvis Duran and the Morning Show" on Friday, Gaga broke the news that she'd be back for another round of horror, joining the already-announced Angela Bassett and Sarah Paulson for the forthcoming season.

During her phoner with the Z100 vet, Mother Monster also spoke about the impact of her Oscar-nominated/performed "Til it Happens to You", which details the struggle of domestic abuse survivals.

"I am so, so proud to hear this song and see it's being heard and see the effects it's having on people. What I've witnessed since the performance is really the most astounding thing I've ever seen", she said of the Diane Warren co-written ballad. "There's so many people in the world that feel alone and this song fills them by bringing them together".

"There is a stigma around the song, there is a stigma around sexual assault".
"We want to help people speak up through all the pain".
"I really want to give a shout out to those that came on stage with me. I was a wreck the week before performing".
"You file it away in your brain so you don't feel it, but it is still physically in you. I feel physical pain still".
"I suffer from chronic pain all the time and it's from this fear that I still have ten years later".
"People look at me everyday like a celebrity and this performance was the first time people saw me as a human being".
"People think they are alone, but I'm still feeling it and I have all the resources in the world".

"You can't have empathy without trying to understand someone's pain. It's really hard nowadays with the Internet and the way we're online and all the gossip that we read. I'm sorry, I think it's really shallow, she continued. "I want young people and old to see that it's okay that you don't have to hide from difficult topics, so you can help somebody else".

"It's the thing I am most ashamed of in my life and I always felt that it was my fault".

While it may not have been apparent during her 88th Annual Academy Awards performance, the singer also confessed that she was an absolutely mess in the weeks leading up to the highly-anticipated number. However, the domestic abuse survivors, who joined her on stage, comforted so much her prior to the set that she even got matching tattoos with the stage participants.